MI AMOR Author, Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin writes poetry, prose, and Mexican folktales to paint a heartfelt portrait of her mother, Chabela Isabel Aparicio a widow of 34 years who at 98 years old still believes that the love of her life, Caro will return to her. The memoir is a story of yearning and a bitter sweet jealous love that Chabela hangs on to. “I’m sick of love. I’m sick of waiting for your father. He probably has a woman over there in Coachella” Every poem, story, folk tale and original hand drawing in Vibiana’s memoir develops the theme of the ‘amor eterno’ that Chabela desperately hangs on to. Despite her dementia, Chabela is determined to win Caro back from the far away place that he inhabits. She sings love songs to him, and talks muy apasionada about her husband who she calls ‘muy hombre’. Chabela prays nightly for him to come to her. The poem, Telenovela speaks about Chabela’s sensual nature. She reveres her plaster statue of Saint Anthony, patron of desperate lovers. She fantasizes over the dark-skinned curly haired actors on Canal 52. Her husband is such a man, she confesses. This memoir is a precious read of poems, stories and hand drawings which speaks to all who have an aging parent who hangs on to memories of their lost love, their lost spouse and lost former life.
About the Author: Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin
Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin broke the 1950's rules for girls growing up in East Los Angeles. She snuck out of her yard and exlored the Geraghty Loma gang territories of City Terrace. Her imaginative writing developed from her mother's Mexican storytelling and her habit of writing and drawing in her father's encyclopedias. She founded El Teatro De Los Niños, the first Chicano Children's Street Theater in the U.S. to continue her family's story telling tradition. She graduated from Immaculate Heart College with a degree in Bacteriology and earned Masters degrees in Educational Administration and Theater Arts from Cal State L.A. and Masters in Secondary English and Bilingual Education from USC. Today in Pasadena, she enjoys her four dancing-singing grandchildren.Vibiana bakes enchilada pies and takes train trips with her grandchildren. She is an award winning author and performance artist.
Reviews/Quotes
Vibiana paints a living video of events of crisis, death, births and marriages, but always with family, friends, and neighbors for support. -Eleanor Vargas, Professor, Claremont Colleges -What wonderful stories and so familiar to me, I am addicted to Faulkner, Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. Vibiana certainly belongs in that group. -Isabel Rojas Williams, Executive Director, Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles -Deliciosa! Vibiana is a vivid storyteller. Each word and sentence is deliciously poetic. Maria Elena Fernandez, Professor of Chicana/o Studies, Cal State Northridge -Vibiana's writing is moving, brilliantly written and both riveting and comic. It is serious and heartbreaking but it never fails to engage and include a vividness of character, story and description. Her stories have the cherished ability to convey hope even in the worst of circumstances. - Carla Sameth, Co-Founder and Co-Director, The Pasadena Writing Project ||| REVIEWS: -"You feel transported to a certain time and culture where everything is colorful and symbolic! I absolutely adored this little book of love and loss mixed with angst, art, and poetry in a mixed rich stew of Mexican American culture." -Julianna M. Curtis, Julbox Arts - Mexican storyteller Isabel Luna Aparicio – Chabela to her family and friends – turns 99 this year. Her daughter, artist, author and activist Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin has published a tribute to her mother, MI AMOR, a collection of her own recuerdos of growing up in East Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. Chabela says of her devouted daughter. "She is always writing about our Mexican culture. I guess you can take Vibiana out of East LA but you can't take East LA out of the girl." -PASADENA WEEKLY, 05.12.16 -Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin’s acclaimed book, Mi Amor, A Memoir, Bambaz Press, tells her story through poetry, prose and hand drawings about her spunky 97 year-old mother, Chabela, who has dementia, yet desperately hangs on to the memory of Caro, her deceased husband of 33 years. The story takes place in City Terrace, a Mexican-Jewish neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles during the 1940’s and 1950’s. -MI AMOR is a fantastic read. - Rosalio Urias Muñoz, Chicano Moratorium, UCLA
Additional information
Book Author
Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin
Publisher
Bambaz Press
Language
English
ISBN
978-1511475792
Pages
164
Format
Paperback
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